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TOEFL Listening Comprehension TranscriptNarratorListen to a conversation in a professor''s office between a professor and a student.
Prof: Good afternoon, Mr. Pennington. You are in my, um, American History 201 class, right? How can I help you today?
S: It''s about my term paper. I, uh, I know it''s due next Monday, but, um, I was hoping...I don''t think I can get it done by then. Could I please turn it in by the end of next week instead? I have a really good excuse.
P: Oh I''m sure you do! [chuckles]. I''ve been teaching 33 years. Do you know how many excuses I''ve heard? "My dog ate my paper." "My roommate had a party so I couldn''t concentrate." "I have seven papers due on the same day!" "I went home to see my parents and my car broke down." My favorite was a student who told me she "forgot" all about her term paper until the day before it was due. It''s amazing she remembered to come to class.
S: [Laughs nervously] I didn''t forget, sir. I''ve been working on the paper, really! Here, I brought my outline and a rough draft. It''s, um, just that...well, a lot of things have been going on in my life, and I''m having trouble managing things.
P: I see. You know, I assigned that paper four weeks ago, and I''ve been reminding students about it in each class. So, tell me your story. What''s happening in your life?
S: First, about two weeks ago, my roommate found out his mother is real sick. She has breast cancer. So he''s been really upset, and, uh, I went home with him for a couple of days to see his mom. That caused me to miss biology lab, and I have a huge biology final coming up on Tuesday that I really need to study for this weekend. Then I got the flu last week, and missed a day of class. I tried to work on your paper that day, but I really felt horrible...
P: OK, I can understand that. I''m glad that you''re, er, helping your roommate through a tough time. That''s more important than school work. But all this seems to have happened recently. What about the two weeks after I first assigned the term paper?
S: I, uh [sheepishly]...I guess I didn''t use that time very well. I kind of put off getting started on it.
P: [Sighs]. Yes, you did. You know, if I had a dollar for every time I''ve heard a student say that...
S: I''m sorry, Professor Dalton. I''ve learned my lesson. If I had spent just a little bit of time each week on the paper, I could have had it done on time. I know now that I need to plan for unexpected things.
P: You seem like a bright, conscientious young man, Mr...your first name''s Jack, isn''t it? When I was a young student, an upperclassman gave me some advice that I''ve never forgotten. He said, "You''re going to find yourself with a lot of small gaps during school days -- 15 minutes, or half and hour. What you do during those gaps will make a big difference in how successful you are."
S: Wow! That''s great advice.
P: Yeah, I thought so. And I still do. So I''ll tell you what. You can turn your paper in no later than 9 a.m. Friday, right here on my office desk. In exchange for this favor, I want you to pass that advice on to all your friends and dorm mates.
S: Thank you, professor Dalton! You bet I will.
P: Um, as long as you''re here, let me take a peek at your outline and rough draft. Do you have any questions about the paper that I can help you with?
Excerpt from the TOEFL test listening conversationS: It''s about my term paper. I, uh, I know it''s due next Monday, but, um, I was hoping...I don''t think I can get it done by then. Could I please turn it in by the end of next week instead? I have a really good excuse.
P: Oh I''m sure you do! [chuckles]. I''ve been teaching 33 years. Do you know how many excuses I''ve heard? "My dog ate my paper." "My roommate had a party so I couldn''t concentrate." "I have seven papers due on the same day!" "I went home to see my parents and my car broke down." My favorite was a student who told me she "forgot" all about her term paper until the day before it was due. It''s amazing she remembered to come to class.
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